QuakeFinder is a research and development effort aimed at identifying and characterizing earth-emitting electromagnetic (EM) signals as potential short-term precursors to earthquakes. This technology is being developed to provide short-term earthquake forecasts. The inventors have discovered that anomalous electromagnetic activity occurs ahead of large seismic events. Further, this anomalous electromagnetic activity contains relatively consistent pulse shapes and pulse patterns. This has been shown across numerous earthquakes of both strike-slip and subduction types and locations. QuakeFinder has developed a network of sensors to capture and analyze data indicative of a forthcoming earthquake.
The data suggests that earth-emitting electromagnetic signal shapes and patterns begin approximately two weeks before large (e.g., greater than magnitude 4.5) seismic activity events. QuakeFinder has designed and developed an induction magnetometer network covering California faults as well as faults in multiple other countries. Using this network of magnetometers, QuakeFinder collects data about earthquakes and from that data is developing algorithms to identify and characterize the pre-earthquake electromagnetic signals and patterns to develop a short-term forecasting system to predict potentially property-threatening or life-threatening earthquakes.